in an album long forgotten
by Exceeds Expectations
Summary: There is a flash. /Colin's life is made up of moments, flashes and photographs. The world, and Colin's tiny place in it.


**A/N:** For Round 4 of the Hunger Games Competition.

You do not know how hard it was to write this. Four different versions - one that was mysteriously eaten by my computer - and I'm still not entirely happy with it. OH WELL.

**Prompts used (five out of the ten provided in the HG comp):** Colin Creevey as a character, Blaise/Pansy as a pairing, word count of 957, the word echoes and, panic as an emotion.

* * *

**"You die in the middle of your life, in the middle of a sentence."**

- John Green, _The Fault in Our Stars_

* * *

_Snap._

There is a flash and –

Harry blinks annoyance out of his eyes and scowls.

"Shove off, Colin," Ron says, and they walk away.

"Bye, Harry!" Colin calls, glad that he got a picture of his friends to show Dennis and –

* * *

_Snap._

There is a flash and –

Ginny Weasley keeps on smiling at him, giggling and turning bright red. Colin thinks she's very pretty.

"Colin!" she says. "That's an awful photo!"

"There's no such thing," Colin says, grinning, and –

* * *

_Snap._

There is a flash and –

Two looming yellow eyes, two great big yellow eyes, and the flash lingers in them, painting them bright white, brighter and brighter until they are all Colin can see.

"You were petrified, Mister Creevey," McGonagall says, and there is a strange sort of tenderness about her words. "Everything's okay now."

Colin stares up at her expectantly, waiting for reassurance, for comfort.

"We hope."

She hands him the ruins of his camera and –

* * *

_Snap._

There is a flash and –

Dennis beams up at him from the depths of Hagrid's oversized coat, hair stuck to his face, shivering.

"It's brilliant!" he squeaks, looking around the Great Hall. "I can't believe we're here, Col!"

"Me neither," Colin grins. "Come on, I'll show you around. I know this place like the back of my hand."

Dennis looks up at him with the sort of awe only a little brother can have and –

* * *

_Snap._

There is a flash and –

Dumbledore floats Harry's prone body up towards the school and the weight of worried silence lingers over the crowd.

Dennis sidles up to Colin, eyes wide. "Will he be alright, Col?"

"Of course," Colin says, but his stomach is sick. "He always is!"

"Thank Merlin," Dennis says with a small, safe sort-of smile and –

* * *

_Snap._

There is a flash and –

Ginny Weasley twirls in her dress robes, hair pinned back, and beams at Hermione as they walk through the common room. She is beautiful, and Colin feels himself blush.

"Have a good night!" he calls, and Ginny turns that sunshine smile on him.

"It won't be the same without you, Colin," she says with a wink, and giggles when he turns even brighter red.

She bounds out of the room in a whirl of soft chiffon and –

* * *

_Snap._

There is a flash and –

Cedric Diggory lies dead at the bottom of the maze, eyes grey and empty as his father's wails, and that weighty silence is back, heavy on the shoulders of all who are intruding on such an intimate moment of grief.

Dennis' hand sneaks into Colin's. They do not look at each other. Colin squeezes; Dennis squeezes back.

It is far, far too dark, and –

* * *

_Snap._

There is a flash and –

Draco Malfoy lies sprawled beneath the shade of a tall tree, surrounded by his friends. His head lies in the lap of the Parkinson girl, his face flawlessly pale in the sparse sunlight that passes through the leaves.

He looks happy. Colin wonders if that's what having lots friends feels like.

Malfoy laughs and his friends follow, their laughter just dull echoes of his_, _and Parkinson runs her fingers through Malfoy's hair, and –

* * *

_Snap._

There is a flash and –

Malfoy is pale and drawn, hands twitching, and his eyes dart around, panicked and nervous. He flinches at his friends' voices, shrugs Parkinson away with a scowl. She crawls back to the Zabini boy, entwines her fingers in his. Her eyes never leave Malfoy.

Zabini smirks, his expression cold and cruel, and Colin wonders what has happened over the summer that has changed so much, and –

* * *

_Snap._

There is a flash and –

Dumbledore's broken body lies at the bottom of the tower. Harry is curled up at his head, clawing desperately at his robes, and Colin's chest squeezes tightly.

He does not know where Dennis is.

Ginny walks forward, strong, careful Ginny, and Colin's heart doesn't even sink as she leads Harry away with a small hand on his arm, and –

* * *

_Snap._

There is a flash and –

Dennis' shoulders are slumped in defeat, the letter heavier in his hands than is should be. He looks up at Colin, desperation in his eyes.

"This isn't right," he says quietly. "We have to go back, we – "

"It'll be alright, Dennis," Colin says. "But we have to leave."

"Leave?"

They are gone by morning, and –

* * *

_Snap._

There is a flash and –

The campfire is pathetic. The wind makes it flicker dangerously low, until it almost out, and they never realised how much they needed magic until they couldn't use it anymore.

They are so very cold.

The crackle from the fire sounds around them. A church bell rings in the distance.

"Merry Christmas, Col," Dennis says, through chattering teeth. "What now?"

He stares up at Colin expectantly, waiting for reassurance, for comfort.

"I don't know," Colin says, and –

* * *

_Snap._

There is a flash and –

The battle rages around him, and he walks unnoticed, just a little nobody, and, really, has it ever been any other way?

Until –

"Well, well, well...if I didn't know any better, I'd say we had a Muggle on our hands..."

He has his wand poised, ready, and Colin's still fumbling in his robes when he says, "_Crucio._"

And suddenly, the ground comes up to meet him and every cell of his body is being burnt, being torn apart, being _murdered_ and he can't breathe and everything is fading at the edges and –

"Well, boy?" the man growls. "Are you going to fight?"

He crawls to his feet, blood pounding in his ears, wand ready.

This time, Colin is prepared. He is shooting jinxes and hexes and curses and ducking and diving and shielding and adrenaline is pumping through his veins.

He thinks of Harry, thinks of _winning, _thinks of always fighting for the right side, and –

* * *

_Avada Kedavra!_

There is a flash and –


End file.
